Capital Datang

About sixty miles to the north of Chang'an, there is a very spectacular mausoleum called Xianling. The owner of the burial is Li Shimin's father, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan.

The Xianling Mausoleum faces south and is modeled after the original mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu. The entire mausoleum is large in scale, and the sealing soil is in the shape of a bucket, which looks like an earth mountain. There is a door on each wall, and there are two stone tigers guarding each door. There are also special mausoleum guards outside the cemetery, and no one is allowed to approach at ordinary times.

However, all the guardians of the Xianling Mausoleum were suddenly transferred away today, and the surrounding area was guarded by a special army. In the afternoon, the main entrance to the south was also opened, and a young man in an ordinary blue gown pushed a wheelchair. Walking in, although it was early summer, the old man in the wheelchair was still covered with a thin blanket, his thin hands on his lap were trembling slightly, and his old eyes were filled with crystal clear tears.

Li Yin also noticed the strangeness of his father Li Shimin. In fact, when they had just approached Xianling, Li Shimin became very excited. It can be seen that Li Shimin's intense psychological activities.

Li Shimin knew that he didn't have much time, so he wanted to finish a few unfulfilled wishes in his heart within this limited time. Among them, his son's wedding was under preparation, and the remaining few things were more complicated. Secretive, such as quietly offering mausoleum worship, even for the sake of secrecy, besides him and Li Yin, the people around him are either his shadow guards or Li Yin's four guards. Let go of what happened today.

Actually speaking of Xianling.Li Shimin would come to worship almost every year, but this time he didn't mainly come to worship his father Li Yuan.But someone else.

Li Yin pushed Li Shimin's wheelchair forward slowly along Qingshi Road.We walked all the way to Li Yuan's mausoleum, when Li Shimin let out a long sigh, and the tears in his eyes flowed down his cheeks.

"Liulang, put the joss stick to your grandfather, kowtow a few times, wait outside the mausoleum, and come in after an hour!" Li Shimin ordered directly in a hoarse voice without wiping the tears from his face.

"Your servant obeys!" Li Min opened the box in his hand and took out incense candles and other things from it.It was placed in front of Li Yuan's mausoleum, including some fruits and a pot of wine. Finally, Li Yin followed the etiquette and kowtowed to his grandfather, whom he had never met before, before returning to the outside of the mausoleum. wait.

Although the main purpose of coming this time was not to worship Li Yuan, but as a son, since he came to Xianling, he naturally had to pay homage to his father, besides, Li Shimin also had many things wrong with his father in the past.In addition, my life is not long, so I have a lot of things in my heart that I want to talk to my father.

Li Yin has no impression of Li Yuan, the grandfather of the whole family, because the other party passed away just a year before he crossed over.For Li Yuan, the Tang Gaozu in history.The evaluation has never been very high, and the most criticized place is that the two sons Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin are allowed to compete for the position.In addition, Li Yuan was also very lustful, especially after he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.There are more women in the harem than Li Yin's grandfather, Yang Guang.

However, as Li Yin slowly integrated into this era, the understanding of Li Yuan is no longer limited to the history books of later generations.This made him quickly discover that Li Yuan was actually not as incompetent as later generations evaluated him. There was an obvious piece of evidence that, as the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he could stand out from the many heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty. How could he be an incompetent person? ?

Speaking of which, Li Yuan is actually a person with both civil and military skills. When he first started his army, he was able to take advantage of the situation and set the military thinking of taking Guanzhong first and then drawing the world. It is precisely because of this correct strategic thinking that he can Let Datang sweep the world almost invincibly in a very short period of time, and conquered the entire Central Plains within a few years.

However, compared to his achievements in the military, Li Yuan's greatest contribution was actually political. It was he who made the final decision that made all aspects of the Tang Dynasty continue to use the Sui system, and also promulgated the land equalization system, and abolished a large number of people in the former Sui Dynasty. It can be said that without Li Yuan, there would be no Li Shimin's later rule of Zhenguan.

It's a pity that although Li Yuan is a good emperor, he is not a good father. For Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, two equally excellent sons, he not only failed to play a role in regulating the father, but also made the wish between the two brothers indiscriminately. Huo, and finally the "Xuanwu Gate Change" broke out, which caused him to lose two sons at once, and even he himself was forced to abdicate, and at the same time, he also bore the name of incompetence.

Li Yin was outside thinking about Li Yuan's life, and an hour passed quickly. When he opened the gate of the cemetery and walked in, he found Li Shimin still sitting in a wheelchair, with a pair of dry hands covering his wrinkled face On the ground, like an ordinary old man, weeping silently there.

This is also the first time Li Yin has seen his father lose his composure, and he can't help but guess what Li Shimin would say to his father Li Yuan's tomb before.At the same time, he couldn't help but stop, standing a dozen steps away from Li Shimin, wondering if he should go forward?

After a while, Li Shimin noticed Li Yin's arrival, turned around and wiped the tears on his face, then took a long breath to calm his excitement, and then said to Li Yin: " Liulang, come here and help me up, I want to kowtow to my father and mother."

"Yes!" Li Min hurried over and replied.Not only Li Yuan was buried in Xianling, but Li Shimin's mother Empress Dou, who died early, was also moved here to be buried with Li Yuan. As for what Li Shimin said in front of his parents' tomb just now?Why did he burst into tears?I'm afraid only Li Shimin himself knows this.

Li Shimin was sick and weak. When Li Yin held his arm, he felt that Li Shimin's body was very light, as if he was holding a handful of bones in his hands. Thinking of the high-spirited Emperor of Tang Dynasty, Li Yin couldn't help feeling a sour.

With the support of Li Yin, Li Shimin struggled to stand up from the wheelchair, then slowly moved to the front of his parents' grave, knelt down on his knees slowly, and then let Li Yin let go, supported the ground with his skinny hands, and then struggled Bending down, I solemnly kowtowed to my parents a few times.Naturally, Li Yin didn't dare to stand still, and also knelt behind Li Shimin, bowing his head respectfully to his grandfather and grandmother.

After Li Shimin straightened up, he picked up the wine jug in front of him and filled three glasses of wine, then Li Shimin said again: "Father, this is your favorite Yicheng Jiuhong. Originally, my son wanted to give it to you in person. I bought it, but now that I am weak, I really can’t go there, so I had to ask Liu Lang to send someone to bring some back from Yicheng, and my son tasted it himself, it’s still the same old taste, you will definitely like it!”

As Li Shimin said, he picked up three glasses of wine and sprinkled them in front of Li Yuan's tomb, and then he poured three more glasses, but this time he drank it all by himself. Li Yin was worried about his health and wanted to dissuade him, but several times He opened his mouth, but still didn't say anything, and finally just sighed silently.

Li Shimin is also very restrained. After drinking three glasses of wine, he didn't drink any more, but began to slowly sprinkle the wine in front of Li Yuan's tomb. When the last drop of wine fell, Li Shimin suddenly let out a sigh, and then Said in a very low voice: "Father, I'm sorry!"

Li Yin, who was behind him, was shocked when he heard Li Shimin's last words. At the same time, he looked at his father in front of him with complicated eyes. Although Li Shimin only said five words, it contained huge information.

First of all, since Li Shimin came in, he has always called Li Yuan his father, that is to say, he used to face Li Yuan's tomb as a son before, but at the last sentence, Li Shimin suddenly changed his name to "Father Emperor", Although it is just a title, it means that Li Shimin's role has changed. At this time, he is no longer just Li Yuan's son, but also the emperor of Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin apologized to Li Yuan as an emperor, the meaning of which is very intriguing.The first thing Li Yin thought of was that Li Yuan was forced to abdicate after the change of Xuanwu Gate. Although Li Yuan lived for another nine years and gave birth to a bunch of princes and princesses, as an emperor, he was forced to abdicate by his son. To abdicate, one only needs to think about it a little bit to understand how aggrieved Li Yuan will be?

In addition, during the Xuanwumen Incident, two of Li Yuan's only three remaining sons died due to cannibalism, and Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were both very much loved by Li Yuan. From this, we can see how much grief Li Yuan will feel.These Li Shimin must bear the most direct responsibility.

As the saying goes, people who are about to die have good words. Li Shimin chose to come to Xianling before he died, and then said sorry to Li Yuan in person. It can be seen from this that the change of Xuanwu Gate that year also left a deep impression on Li Shimin. an indelible scar.

Thinking of this, Li Yin couldn't help sighing, as a son, he was naturally not qualified to judge who was right and who was wrong.However, Li Yin knows that if time goes back and Li Shimin chooses again, he will definitely do it without hesitation. This is the cruelty of imperial power, and the greater the imperial power, the more cruel the struggle for the throne. One of the reasons why he always wanted to weaken the imperial power.

After Li Shimin said he was sorry, he motioned for Li Yin to help him up.When he sat back in the wheelchair again, Li Shimin pointed to the northeast of Xianling, which is the funeral area of ​​Xianling, where Xiangyi King Li Shenfu, Huaian King Li Shentong and other royal families, as well as some important ministers, died. They were all buried here.

In addition, in the burial area, two very important figures were buried, and they were the people Li Shimin wanted to worship the most during this trip. (to be continued..)